This invention relates to pipe fittings used to make connections to pipes containing fluids under pressure, and particularly to a pipe fitting to be placed over a closed end of a pipe for connecting another pipe in the same direction and for cutting a hole in the closed end to permit full flow through the pipes.
To make repairs or to make alterations either in liquid systems or in gas systems, flow must often be interrupted in part of the system while flow is to be continued in the rest of the system. For example, within a dwelling or other building, pipes connected to a city water system need to be repaired or to be changed for new service. Commonly, two valves or shut-offs, are in a service line between a main line at a street and the system within the building. However, after many years of service, these valves become stuck so that they either cannot be operated at all or can be operated only after much costly labor.
Rather than attempting to close stuck or unaccessible valves for stopping flow to pipes, the pipes, such as lead pipes or copper pipes, can be closed quite readily by pounding to flatten opposite portions of the sides and thereby forcing the sides together along respective transverse lines to make respective tight diametrical crimps across the pipes. After a repair has been made in the portion of a system disconnected in such a manner from a supply line, fluid connection across the crimped portion is to be reestablished.
Types of fittings commonly used to tap into lines under pressure are similar to a fitting described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,554,217 issued to Henry Ehrens et al on Jan. 12, 1971. This fixture is to make connection to a new lateral branch line for a relatively small flow compared with the capacity of the line to which it is connected. A valve is included for controlling flow in the branch line. Fittings of this type are clamped to a pipe having fluid under pressure and are suitable for connecting branch lines that are small compared with the lines that are being tapped.